Children of the Night: The Masquerade
by Dakk Tribal
Summary: Yuuki and Zero come to Transylvania with Kaname to celebrate with a 'Queen' Vampire named Mina...unfortunately, many other vampires were also invited, and not all of them appear to come from the same 'neighborhood'.
1. Cross Academy

Cross Academy, a private school where students live together in the dorms. It is twilight now, the time of the day where evening begins to fade into night. Most people would be in doors by now, due to the cool evening temperature.

The students are divided into two groups: the Day Class and the Night Class. As the names imply, each class has a time of day that they must attend class. When it comes time for the switch over, when the Day Class returns to their dorms and the Night Class enters the Academy. A curfew takes effect during this time.

However, that doesn't stop the herd of female Day Class students at the gate to the Night Class dormitory.

Like a pack of puppies, the girls wait impatiently, waiting for the Night Class.

Were it not for the Disciplinary Committee, which guards the Night Class door, they more than likely would have stormed the place already.

Yuki Cross, however, would not let them; even though the poor girl was out-numbered she wasn't going to let them pass.

"Hey stay back! Curfew is in effect! Return to your dorms-!"

A dark haired student spoke up, outraged, "We can see what you are doing Yuki Cross!"

"Yeah, you just want the Night Class all to yourself!"

Yuki barred their path, "Not true! I'm a member of the Dis—" Suddenly being tackled from the front and both sides by the girls and her back to the door, Yuki felt like an elephant was trying to back into her. She had to get this crowd back to the dorm before it got out of hand.

"GAH! Come on, don't act like little kids—!"

A loud creaking sound followed by a sudden silence from the squealing crowd answered her fear.

Turning her head to check, she saw the Night Dorm door opening, and when he gaze returned to the crowd, they all stood in straight lines on the cobblestone path before the door. All of them acted like they were under the utmost control.

Yuki had been too late. Again.

"Okay…please proceed…" And the defeated Yuki snuck off to the side without another word as the Night Class poured out slowly.

The day Class girls made a low audible 'aww' sound as their celebrities started to appear.

The Night Class, in their white uniforms and unnatural aristocratic air, walked out past the gate. The first one out was a young man with short blonde hair and a smiling face, "Good morning there girls!"

Aido Hanabusa.

'Good morning?' Yuki thought, her face with a look of embarrassment over Aido's first remark of the day.

Not that the mob of females would care less. They wouldn't care if Aido had said merry Christmas in the heat of July or something more out of the ordinary, they would still pamper over him.

"It's Idol—I mean Aido!" Said one girl, her hands on her cheeks, which were red with blush.

"Hi!" Aido said, the world's biggest smile on his face.

"You never tire of this, do you Hanabusa?" A slightly taller man behind Aido said, in a low voice. His name was Kain Akatsuki.

"And you DO? You're such a stiff Akatsuki!" That was Aido's reply, without a second glance.

The constant screaming of hyper girls kept going on.

"Hello Aido!"

"Akatsuki over here!"

Of course, Aido was more than happy to return a smile or wave back enthusiastically. Kain, well, he felt more uncomfortable as the seconds dragged by. This happened every evening, and yet each day it got worse for some of the Night Class students. Yet, only Aido enjoyed it, as least from what everyone believed.

Even Yuki thought that Aido enjoyed this a little too much.

And the next gesture he did seemed to prove her point. He simply pointed at a girl, and said 'bang', with a smile.

The girl seemed to faint, and she was on the ground within seconds of being 'shot'.

This caused an even bigger ruckus, as the tidal wave returned, running over Yuki who was no better than a bump in the road to their hero.

Finding herself face-first in the dirt was nothing new to Yuki, however, she got trampled two or three times a week at most.

On her hands and knees she could hear Aido's playful yelling as the mob of Day Class girls clamored to him. 'He never gets enough does he…?' She got up and dusted her black uniform of dust and adjusting her armband on her upper right arm.

Putting her hands on her hips, Yuki sighed, "another no show—"

"Yuki."

That voice seemed to turn Yuki to stone, she froze as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Breaking out of her state, she turned and saw a familiar face.

Short raven black hair that reached just past his eyes was Kaname Kuran, the Night Class Dorm President. "Are you alright?"

Yuki nodded quickly, a slight stagger in her voice as she spoke, "I-I'm fine, Kaname."

"Thank you for doing this everyday," Kaname replied, his voice smooth and even.

Yuki stood up straight, "well…" And she suddenly felt the glares of a dozen pairs of eyes coming from behind her, and she stiffened again. "That's what I am supposed to do!"

Kaname placed his hands on her shoulders, and the tense feeling Yuki had before slowly disappeared. "You don't have to be so reserved, makes me feel…a bit lonely."

"I am sorry, it's just that you're the one who rescued me on that—" Yuki stopped as he placed his cold hand on her cheek. 'On that snowy day…ten years ago…'

Yuki, a lost little girl, in a forest in the middle of nowhere, attacked by a man with bright red eyes… That was her earliest memory.

"It was so long ago," Kaname said before his gaze looked at the man behind Yuki. "Zero Kiryu."

Zero? Yuki look behind her and saw Zero standing there, merely inches away from her. She hadn't even heard him come near her.

"The Headmaster wants to see you in his chamber. Better hurry, Kaname," Zero said, his voice low and stern.

Kaname's facial expression, slight smile, didn't change. "Then I will, Zero."

The rest of the Night Class watched as their leader proceded to lead them to the Main building.

Yuki's eyes followed Kaname as he walked away, and he turned to look into her eyes once again, before walking away.

Yuki felt like heat going to her face. 'Why does that always happen?' She put a hand to her cheek, and started to turn to Zero—

"YOU ALL GET BACK TO YOUR DORMS RIGHT NOW!"

All the girls from the Day class took off running like bats out of hell back to their building. Zero was steaming with utter annoyance. Yuki noticeably jumped from his outburst.

"Everyday it is the same thing, out here screaming and yelling—OW!"

Yuki punched Zero hard in the shoulder once, and then twice, "You're late again you big jerk! Its our job as Disciplinary members to set an example—!" Zero grabbed Yuki by the forehead and pushed her away as she uselessly tried to assault him.

"Oh really? I could say that right back at you!"

Calming himself a bit, Zero gave a glare, "You're so obvious it's embarrassing. Look, no matter if you like Kaname or not is none of my business—"

"And what IS your business, Zero? Not showing up to class, to our patrols, or even to the switch-over and leaving me to suffer like this—"

"You realize what they are, right?"

Like someone had turned the volume down to low, Yuki stopped, looking at the Night Class as they entered the building, and she also noticed the sun had nearly gone down, "I know, that they are different from us…"

The secret we have to protect…is that the Night Class is made up of vampires.


	2. Ruina Reinhardt

"Alright…here goes nothing," Ruina Reinhardt said aloud as she dove off the board. She went down about ten feet before made contact with the ice cold water of the mansion pool, going about six feet under in the deep end. A nicely made dive. Making it to the surface, the girl took a great gulp of purified air, breathing in the scent of the water, that unique smell you got when entering a public pool. But this wasn't a public pool you'd take your children to or spend a summer afternoon at. The pool she was in was her private pool, located in her mansion home in Berlin. She was the only one who came here every day. Thanks in part to her father; she was given this pool for the sake of relaxing. And for that Ruina was grateful, spending time in the laborious world of her human friends was tiring and hard to handle at times. Being half-vampire made it all the uneasy. Homework, after school activities, trying to stay alive, and feeding on human blood…then head to the pool to forget it all. That was all she did, every day of her unnaturally long life.

'Not that I can complain,' Ruina thought as she swam to the pool's edge. The only real complaint she could have was the part where her life was in constant danger. She may be a princess, the Princess of the German Vampires, but it came with high stakes for her position. People, both vampire and humans alike, where out to get her. That was stressful enough without the labors she had as she masqueraded as a human during the day.

_Thank God I inherited mother's immunity to sunlight_, she thought as she recalled her human mother. She knew little about her, except that she had died giving birth to her. Father spoke fondly of how Ruina looked like his long dead wife, and Ruina, not knowing her own mother very well, appreciated it.

Ruina came out of the pool, grabbing a towel and drying herself off with it and then putting a simple white robe on. She started to walk to the door when she saw one of the house servants making his way over to her. "Miss Ruina." He said with a bow.

"Theodore, what brings you here?"

The man smiled, "A message from your father," he handed her a small piece of paper, "He wishes to see you in his office, right away."

Ruina sighed, she had wanted to head out to the mall to shop with her friends. Her father had the most unnecessary timing, as always. "I shall humor him then. Thank you Theodore."

The man nodded, and then walked out.

Ruina took a long look at the paper she had been given, like she was looking at her father's face then. All the while she wondered what he had to tell her…

Her father, Vincent Reinhardt, was sitting at his desk when he received word that Ruina had been given his message. And it wasn't long before she came to his chamber. Dressed in the white dress she was normally seen in around the house, low cut top with a light blue stripe down the middle reaching to her ankles. A dress her mother had worn before she passed.

The girl walked up to the desk, her eyes looking straight at his. "Daughter."

Ruina's voice was low as she nodded, "Father. You wished to see me?"

Vincent stood up, "I did. But first, how was your swim?"

She smiled, "It was joyous, to say the least, thank you. But, may I ask why you sent for me?"

Her father took a piece of paper from his desktop and handed it to Ruina, who took it in a white-laced glove hand. She read aloud:

"Dear Lord Reinhardt, it is our great pleasure to inform you that you have been invited to our masquerade ball and fete overseen by our Queen, Mina Tepes. It is being held in Her Majesty's estate in Romania, in the Carpathian Mountain side of Transylvania at Castle Dracula on the 31st of October, during All Hallows Eve. It would please her greatly for you to come.

Signed, Lord Kaname Kuran"

'Kaname?' Ruina thought with a long look at the name. She hadn't heard that name in decades. "Father, you plan to go to this ball Mina is celebrating?"

Vincent gave her a curt smile and walked over to the window, where the darkness of the night could be seen for miles, and the light of the city and the pale blue moonlight poured in. "Actually, as much as I want to see our Queen, I have matters that need my attention more."

"Not one for fetes I presume?"

He shook his head, "It isn't that. As the ruler of Germany's clans, I have to remain here to keep a steady eye on those who would threaten the stability of the country."

Ruina walked over to her father, the light tapping of her high-heeled shoes on the wooden floor echoing throughout the large chamber, "So, what do you plan to do? I doubt Lord Kaname would be pleased to hear that you were not going to the party—"

"You're going in my place."

Ruina suddenly had to catch her breath, and felt her legs weaken a little, "W-what?"

Vincent looked her in her bright blue eyes, "You will take my place as the head of the Reinhardt family while I tend to matters at home."

Now Ruina wished she was back in the pool, maybe even drowning right now instead of being told this rather unwanted news. She never liked big parties, as they usually spelled big trouble for her in the past. Prom of this past year was a prime example, where an incubus nearly killed her.

Thinking maybe she could talk herself out, Ruina went and took hold of her father's arm, "But father—"

But he didn't fall for it, "Sorry Ruina, but you must."

Taking a sigh in defeat, Ruina reluctantly nodded, "then I shall…"

Vincent chuckled, "It will be alright. I'm sure you'll have fun while you are there."

'Fun? What could be more fun than being with a bunch of old political jerks who will treat me like a child?' Ruina thought with annoyance. "When do I leave?"

Vincent walked back over to his desk; "I already made arrangements for you to leave tomorrow morning. I've already made calls to the school explaining your impending absence."

Ruina sighed again, crossing her arms over her chest; "I'll go tell Victor then." She headed for the door.

"Ruina."

The girl turned her head to her father. "I'm sorry if you had not wanted to go, but you understand why. Right?"

Ruina looked away, "Yes, I do, father." And she left the room.

In the training room located in the rear of the mansion, Victor was busy himself. Fighting a punching bag, sharpening his jabs. On the bag he was fighting were three black X-marks. One high, one in the middle, and one low, representing the head, chest and gut areas of the human body, respectively.

'The primary areas of weakness, to most,' Victor thought as he took a jab between the high and mid X-marks, where the neck would be. He mainly aimed for such a small area, as he believed that the neck, being the passage where oxygen entered the body, once it was closed off the victim would concentrate trying to breath again instead of fighting back. He went to that area a lot more than the others because of that belief.

He checked the tape-wrapping around his knuckles, the tape was showing dark brown spots, 'Heh, looks like I got a little too into it…'

Seconds later he felt what seemed like a gust of wind enter the room, yet there were no windows open. He felt a rush of aura overwhelm the room as well, and he instantly knew whom it was. He smirked, "Ruina."

The girl, who had come in unnoticed to everyone, was suddenly greeted by her Knight, "Hello Victor." She looked behind her to the rest of the men and women who were doing exercises, taking note of how they all stopped and were on their knees in respect for their princess.

Victor, however, merely bowed his head, formalities not being his strong point.

Ruina handed him the invitation her father had given her, "We're going to Romania."

Taking the paper in his hand, Victor quickly skimmed over it, taking notice of the name Kaname Kuran, "Kaname… Isn't he like one of the leading Lords in Japan?"

The girl seemed surprised at this, "You know Lord Kaname?"

Victor shook his head, "Not personally, I've just heard things about him. Like how he's trying to make humans and vampires coexist in some academy somewhere."

Ruina nodded, "Cross Academy."

"It's a ridiculous concept, but a worthy one to try and achieve," Victor replied, striking the middle of the bag with a straight kick.

"Why ridiculous?"

A couple quick blows sent the bag swinging back slightly, "humans are either an enemy or a meal to us. Trying to avoid either is impossible. Coexisting with them is even more impossible."

Ruina lowered her head, "I don't believe that."

'She's too young to understand…' "I won't bring it up anymore."

Ruina and Victor had a small space of silence left after that. Ruina's age being only a fourth of Victor's meant that they were as different as they seemed similar. Victor, who had grown up in a cruel and unforgiving society, hunted since the day he was born and fighting to stay alive, while Ruina was the offspring of a human and vampire, an unholy union born of love… They had known each other for only a few months, and yet they knew much about each other.

"Your views won't make me change my mind. And I can't ask you to shut up about them in front of anyone either, but I hope that can respect other's opinions in the matter," Ruina said, her voice smooth as silk in her speech.

Victor didn't say anything.

"We leave in the morning. I hope you'll be ready then," Ruina said, turning back to the door.

Victor turned to face her, "…Yes, Princess."

Ruina had not heard him say that, nor did she hear the thud of the bag hitting the wall from an angry blow from Victor.


	3. Blade

London, England…

Three men were running down an alley in London's White Chapel District. All were running very fast, inhumanly fast. Where they were running to didn't matter to them at the moment. All they knew was that they were being chased.

As soon as they reached a crossroad, the swishing sound of a silver glaive (a boomerang type weapon) came from behind them, and it quickly sliced the head off of one of the vampires, reducing him to ash within seconds

That was what was chasing them. And it belonged to the Day-Walker.

The weapon found its way back to Blade as he started to catch up to his quarry, his black leather coat catching some of the ashes of the vampire he had just killed.

The two remaining vampires took a sharp turn into a random building, finding themselves in a lightly populated gentleman's club. One took refuge behind the bar, scrambling in a panic for a weapon, any weapon, and soon laid his hands on one: a pump action shotgun. His partner tried to find a similar weapon, but he didn't see one, and jumped onto the stage, pushing a woman in the middle of her routine off of it and into the arms of one of her spectators.

Blade came in just as the girl was thrown off the stage, and he didn't even take a step before the blast from the shotgun was heard. Taking cover behind some over turned tables, Blade counted the shots.

One. He got a pistol ready…

Two. He switched the safety off…

Three. He stood up and shot one shot at the gun-wielding vampire, the bullet pierced the heart and the vampire instantly ashed, disappearing behind the counter in a plume of smoke.

The second vampire, realizing that he was alone, took off for the back door, and scurried down an alley and into the rear of another shop. Blade quickly followed.

Pushing past everyone, the vampire seemed to know where he was going, as he went up stairs and past certain doors, making his way up into a secured area with strange glyphs lining the walls. He got out a security code and inputted it into the keyboard, opening a secret door and going inside, locking it behind him. Taking a deep breath, and smiling in triumph.

At least until the door was blasted open by the explosive gel Blade used. The whole floor shook with the force behind that, and the door was sent flying, the weight crushing the last vampire, crushing the skull and brain, reducing him to ash.

Blade dusted off his coat, and stepped into the room. It was all white, with a few desks and such lining the walls, with large jars on their tops. Inside were human and animal organs, like you'd find in hospitals.

'But this is no hospital,' Blade said to himself, opening another door. Coming into what looked like an ordinary office. A simple desk was in the center, surrounded by mountains of books, as well as shelves of them, and papers were all over the floor in a disorganized manner. It looked as if someone had ransacked the place in a big hurry.

'Guess it won't hurt to look around,..'

Blade started to look at the desk for any kind of clue. Where safe houses were located, maybe some pictures of familiars (wannabe vampires) to help with the elimination process. He didn't find any of that, just documents on organ transplants and blood shipments, but Blade didn't give up, and he kept searching.

Then something caught his eye. A piece of paper with gold lettering, in a fancy font, which read:

"—it is our great pleasure to inform you that you have been invited to our masquerade ball and fete overseen by our Queen, Mina Tepes. It is being held in Her Majesty's estate in Romania, in the Carpathian Mountain side of Transylvania at Castle Dracula starting on the 28th and ending on the 31st of October, during All Hallows Eve. It would please her greatly for you to come."

'Mina Tepes?' Blade touched the rim of his sunglasses, pressing a small button on the side, "Whistler, you getting this?"

A gruff voice was heard in the comm-link, "Yeah kid, looks like its something important."

Placing the paper in the pocket inside his coat, Blade left without saying another word.

Northern Italy…

The temperature outside was freezing, yet I was warm as I sat in the car. Italy was never a warm place, at least this far north, just skirting the Alps. It had been raining, which was common for this time of year. At least, that was what I was told. I hated the rain. Anything wet and cold, I could not stand being around.

I had just woken up from a nap, waking up while Edward and I were in the Veneto region of Italy. Nothing had woken me up, the smooth ride of the Aston MartinV12 Vanquish made that seem impossible, it was Edward's ice-cold hand gently touching my gloved hand. I gasped then rubbed my eyes, and I could hear Edward apologizing, "Sorry Bella, I didn't know you were asleep."

I shook my head lazily, "Its alright, Edward, I was just resting."

I knew he saw through my lie, and he smiled.

I adjusted myself in the seat, it had been awhile since we had stopped to rest or anything other than to enjoy the sights of Europe.

Edward had asked me to come to Europe with him to spend the fall with him. Of course, I had no idea we'd be seeing ALL of the continent when I agreed to go, nor did I see that it would be just him and I alone either.

Not that I had a problem with it, as I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Mountains was all that could be seen for awhile, capped with snow and trees that you could see for miles. "Where are we heading to next?"

Edward looked at me with a small smile, "Romania, our last stop before we head back to Forks."

"What's in Romania?"

"Why, it's the home of vampires," he said, using a mock accent, trying to be funny. I smiled a bit at his attempt to lighten the mood. "Actually, I heard the Alps are gorgeous this time of year."

I fiddled with the earphones of my MP3 player, "You know any one from the area?"

"You mean like me?"

I nodded.

"No."

I adjusted myself again, trying to get my muscles moving again, to avoid future cramps, "I'm gonna rest again, wake me if something happens please."

Edward said he would, knowing full well the next time she woke up, they'd be well on their way to Transylvania.

"Tsukune! I have something to tell you!" That was what Tsukune Aono heard while he finished tying his shoes near the door to his dorm room. The female voice he heard was that of one of three girls he knew: either Yukari, a little girl who skipped god knows how many grades because she was so smart, Kurumu, a drop dead and buxom beauty who acted like a nymphomaniac, or—

As Tsukune stood up the door in front of him suddenly shot open, and in came the answer to his question: the pink haired Moka Akashiya, tackling him straight to the floor, arms around his neck and nearly cutting off the oxygen to his lungs.

"M-Moka! Do you have to do this everyday?"

"Guess what I got!"

Tsukune gave a confused look, and noticed a white envelope sticking out of Moka's school shirt—right next to the cleavage of her well-developed breasts. Tsukune instantly blushed and felt a small trickle of blood slipping out of his nostril. 'Oh man…'

As soon as he looked around for a tissue for this embarrassing moment, Moka was mere inches from his face, her cheeks red, as if she had been the one who was bleeding. She leaned in closer and closer, and Tsukune totally forgot about his blood dripping as Moka's eyes got bigger and bigger until she spoke:

"Tsukune…I'm so…"

"Moka…?"

And then he screamed as her fangs pierced his neck and she sucked some of his blood out, "Your scent is too enticing!"

"GAHHHH!"

Suddenly snapping out of it, Moka sat back on her knees, "I'm so sorry, Tsukune!"

Putting his hand to the wound, Tsukune suddenly felt his head get heavy, "It's a-alright…"

This happened nearly everyday. That's because Moka is, in reality, a vampire. A powerful youkai (monster), often called the most powerful monster of them all. Yet, looking at Moka, you'd think with her gorgeous looks and hotter-than-the-sun body that she'd be something of a pushover.

That is not the case, and Tsukune would be the best witness to that. In fact, if it weren't for Moka, he'd have been dead days ago.

Now, the paper fell from Moka's shirt, "Is that what you wanted to show me?"

Moka smiled, "Yes! Father sent it to me!"

'Father…? Come to think of it, I never heard her talk about her parents before…' "What's it say?"

Moka went and tore the envelope open excitedly, pulling out some form of paper, "oh, the first part is addressed to me only…" She quickly read over it, "Strict as always…hm?"

Tsukune tilted his head, sitting up—and wiping the blood off his nose—he asked what the letter said.

"This is an…invitation?"

Handing the paper to Tsukune, he read aloud: "You have been invited to a party held by Mina Tepes in Transylvania, going from the 26th to the 31st of October. As the Daughter of Lord Issa, it would honor our Highness if you were able to attend.

P.S. You are allowed to bring one friend."

"Aww…just one friend?"

Tsukune looked over the piece of paper, and the name Mina Tepes caught his eye, "Is this Mina someone important?"

Moka threw back a strand of her long pink hair, "Father talked about her sometimes, but I've never met her."

Tsukune stood up, helping Moka to her feet as well, "Well, nevertheless, the note said you'd be able to bring a friend to this party. But, who will you bring?"

Moka nodded, "Such short notice…I'll take YOU!"

The boy's face went to a slight blush, "You sure?"

"I'm sure, it'll be fine."

'A date with Moka…? Cool! This aught to be fun, hopefully with no monsters in this either…'

"Oh, now I remember!"

Tsukune went and tilted his head, "Remember what?"

"Something about Mina."

"And that is?"

"She's a vampire too!"

"Oh that's nice—WHAT!"


	4. Cross Academy Departure

"—Yes, Headmaster Cross, I'm sure. I want her to come with me," Kaname said, sitting in his chair by the desk of the Headmaster.

Adjusting his glasses, Headmaster Cross then took a sip of his coffee, "Well, I guess we could have a small holiday in the event of your absence. The guardians would be down by one, and Zero wouldn't be able to—"

The door opened, and as if the devil heard, Zero Kiryu stepped into the office, hands in his pant pockets, and sauntered into the room.

"Ah, Zero we were just talking about you, please sit down," the Headmaster said.

The guardian's eyes went straight to the vampire, Kaname, who sat with his legs crossed and leaning on his elbow on the armrest. "I know, I heard it."

"Oh, eavesdropping?" the headmaster made a playful gasp at Zero's little announcement. "How much of it did you hear?"

Zero went and took a seat, "All of it."

The headmaster's eyes slightly narrowed, "I figured as much."

Kaname adjusted himself, "and what do you think of it?"

"I'm against it."

"Zero, the choice isn't yours, its Yuki's, my daughter," headmaster replied. Yuki was his adopted daughter, coming into his care when Kaname brought her to him ten years before.

"She isn't your real daughter," Zero angrily replied.

"No matter, the choice will be hers to make once she gets here—"

"SORRY!" Yuki yelled as she came rushing in, coming close to knocking the door off its hinges. After she bowed in apology and straightened herself, as well as gather all the breath she had lost, she turned, "I had to—oh, hello Kaname…"

Zero's eyes narrowed, "What, no hello for me?"

Yuki shook her fist at Zero and mumbled, "I see you all the time, shut up."

The headmaster spoke up, "Yuki, Kaname has something he wishes to speak to you about."

"Oh?"

Kaname stood up, "Yuki, there is a special event happening in Europe. A party is being held by a friend of mine, and I was hoping you'd join me."

Yuki blushed slightly, feeling the heat go straight to her face, "uh…just us?"

Kaname shook his head, "Kain, Aido, and Ruka will be joining us—"

"As will I," Zero spoke abruptly.

Kaname's gaze shifted to the guardian, but he said nothing.

The headmaster, however, objected immediately, "Zero, this is a personal event for Kaname and the vampire race. You won't be allowed—"

Yuki's eyebrows went up, "it's a vampire party?"

"Yes, in honor of the coexistence between humans and vampires."

That was what Yuki wanted. Coexistence between the two most hostile races on the planet, a seemingly senseless wish, yet it could in the slightest be granted if worked hard enough.

"I see. Then, Kaname, I'd love to go," she said, then her gaze shifted to Zero, angrily glaring at her, "if its alright, I'd like Zero to come along."

Kaname's dark eyes went to Zero, then back to Yuki, "Of course."

Yuki gave a sigh of relief, then she looked at the clock on the wall, "Uh oh! Better get back to work! Um, when do we leave?"

The vampire smiled, "Tomorrow evening. I have everything planned out for our absence, so no need to worry about trivial things."

Another sigh came from the girl, "oh, thanks…well, see you all then, and Zero, don't let me catch you sleeping again!" Yuki yelled out before she left.

As soon as the door was closed, Kaname started to walk out, "I'll make sure to make arrangements for you Zero, see you tomorrow."

When the door had closed behind the vampire, Zero also started to leave. Yuki's asking of him to come along was a bit of a surprise to him. He was ready to make a stand should she have thought to convince him other wise, but turns out he had nothing to really worry about. 'Except Yuki going to a party of vampires, by herself, and with Kaname…'

As Zero thought about this, he heard the headmaster speak, "Zero, I hope to not hear that you caused trouble for Kaname. This could be a big moment in the Academy's history."

Zero's hand went to the inside of his uniform jacket, and tightly gripping the handle on his silver Bloody Rose handgun, "I'll do whatever I see fit to keep Yuki safe."

With that, he walked out of the room, and into the darkened hallway.


	5. Princess Ruina's Arrival

The flight to the Romanian capital was a tiring ordeal for Princess Ruina. Sitting in a plane for hours on end was just not her way to spend one. Besides listening to music coming from the aircraft's speakers, and falling asleep from time to time, she literally did nothing. One of her escort guards told her not to read anything, otherwise she would get nauseous. That made her even more bored, and wished for the trip to be over sooner.

Once they landed, Ruina was the first one off the plane, wanting to get the fresh air she so desperately needed. She took notice that the sun was nearly down, taking less than a day for her to get ready and the flight took twice as long as she had thought it would.

Her guards immediately cut the area off, keeping the perimeter safe for her to wander about as he luggage was unloaded from the plane, she had only brought four suitcases full of clothes and things, but there was one box she had not seen before. Long and black, and shaped like a coffin, Ruina went over and inspected it, "What's in here?"

As she tried to open it, and the lid was heavy, she heard a knock from the inside!

"Ah!"

Ruina jumped back, startled that something, or someone, was in the coffin.

A guard who had been standing nearby, knocked on the lid twice, and slowly, the lid opened, and Ruina was shocked to see Victor laying in the coffin.

He lay with his arms crossed over his chest, and his red eyes glared at Ruina for a split second before he sat up slowly, "That was a rather smooth ride," he said stretching his arms.

"And you have a bizarre way of traveling," Ruina replied, adjusting the ties on the front of her bodice.

Standing up out of the casket, Victor stretched out fully, "Well, the sun is deadly to vampires like me."

"Shh! Don't speak like that in front of these people," Ruina said harshly.

Victor brushed her off, "I think they know if they didn't already."

Ruina and Victor went together to the airport terminal and checked themselves out. Ruina had to use a private room in order to fully change her dress, changing into a white dress with a bright blue lining. She hated black, so her entire wardrobe consisted of white dresses, though she had packed some casual wear like jeans and alter tops for when she was out and about and for school. She then waited for Victor to show up, and he didn't look much different from before in terms of appearance. Victor too had to change his clothes, though he just got rid of the trench coat he usually wore and replaced it with a similar black leather vest. Except for his neck, not an inch of skin was showing on him, just the way he liked it.

The vampire walked up to the Princess, "We're to take a limousine to the Alps."

Ruina gave a sigh, 'not another long trip in a vehicle…'

Seemingly sensing her disappointment, Victor replied, "It won't take as long as the flight."

'Sure it will,' Ruina thought, her insides were still getting used to not being on a plane, and she wanted to eat something. 'Looks like that will have to wait.'

The trip to the limo was somewhat uncomfortable. Proper procedure called for all visitors to be searched at the detectors. Ruina had the small humiliation of standing in front of the security and being searched with a metal detector. Even though they all got through with no trouble, Ruina was exceptionally grateful not to have been frisked during the inspection.

'Should have just looked him in the eyes and told him to let me through,' the princess thought as she got to the car. That was a vampire power she had inherited, but it was small in power and would not always work when she needed it to.

Getting in the car, Ruina again got herself situated for yet another long drive, hoping to get the whole traveling part of the whole fiasco over and done with as soon as inhumanly possible.

Victor immediately turned on the CD player, turning it to a song he figured Ruina would like, and he found something he liked in the process. It was called 'Sacrament of Wilderness' by Nightwish.

The song was heavy, but it had great words and sweet melody, and Victor sat in his seat next to Ruina, closing his eyes, trying to rest. Sleep wasn't necessary for him. As a pureblood vampire, he didn't have to sleep, but his princess, as half-human, had to. 'And she'll be asleep with boredom before too long, and then its back to what I do best.'

His gaze then went over to Ruina, and he was somewhat surprised to see she was looking at him as well.

Undaunted, Victor spoke, "We'll get as close to the province as we can, and then we'll have an escort take us to Bran Castle."

Ruina nodded, "Mina doesn't seem to like cars near 'her' castle." Ruina put the length of her long black hair to the opposite side of her neck, "Wake me when we get there, okay?"

Victor nodded, and Ruina closed her eyes just as the car started to move.

If it weren't for Zero being stoic, the ride to Transylvania would have been more exciting. As it turned out though, it became very dark and gloomy, as Zero kept to himself and far away from the others, including Yuki.

Once the group made it to the beautiful Transylvanian countryside, Zero remained aloof, and Yuki could understand why, and decided to leave him alone. Kaname, on the other hand, kept a close watch over Yuki, talking with her whenever he was bored, or when he felt like it. That made the girl comfortable.

The ride to the castle was short, since Kaname made sure they had got as close to the castle as possible. The carriage was intricately adorned too, and it made Yuki feel like a princess in a fairy tale.

Looking out at the all the trees, Yuki's breath was taken away at the sight, having never been to a European country before. The others, Aido, Kain, and a girl named Ruka Souen who was also from the Night Class back at the Academy, were as quiet as Zero was. 'But that's just them, I suppose…' Yuki thought as she looked out the window.

The sun had been down for at least an hour when they reached the castle.

Yuki stepped out of the car, and the sight was just exquisite. The castle was big, very big, and seemingly twice as big as the Academy. Tall spires that went to the sky, made of stone and brick, and looking up to date as well. Two big wooden doors were at the top of a small case of stairs, the parking lot had a large fountain in the center, shooting water out of the top, and was decorated with small angels along the sides surrounded by a pool of water at least six inches deep.

'Wow…like out of a fairy tale…'

Zero walked up to her, "Snap out of it. We're surrounded."

Yuki looked at him, then around the area, seeing pairs of yellow eyes in the edge of the forests that surrounded them.

The feeling of amazement that Yuki had at once disappeared when she saw those eyes in the woods. She went over and sat on the edge of the fountain. Aido came out of the carriage, followed by Kain, then Ruka, and finally Kaname.

Zero also stood near the fountain, not looking at the vampires as they came out.

Aido was openly excited about the castle as well, though Kain had showed little enthusiasm, Aido knew the big guy had to be as excited as he was.

Ruka, on the other hand, seemed as distant from the others as she had been on the carriage ride. The girl had joined Kaname and the others the morning the evening they decided to leave. She had hardly said a word to anyone other than Kaname.

As Yuki sat at the fountain, she saw Kaname speaking to Ruka and others, and she just watched them for a short period of time.

"So, how's your hero?"

Zero's voice pulled Yuki out of her daze, and she replied in anger at his last words, ""Its not just Kaname I was looking at! Stop acting like you know everything."

Zero looked angry, "So, now what, we wait until this Mina comes to us?"

"I suppose so," Yuki said. She knew Zero hated waiting. "And Zero, for the sake of us all, please behave yourself, okay?"

He said nothing.

"I mean it Zero, we're here as friends of Kaname—"

"I never wanted to be his 'friend', Yuki, I came along to keep an eye on them," he said, a sinister tone coming from his voice.

Yuki was going to say something, but she decided against it when she saw Zero's expression. She knew for a fact that Zero hated Kaname—no, he hated vampires in general.

'That was because of a trauma he suffered when he was younger: his family was killed by a vampire. A bad vampire, a vampire unlike Kaname, who saved my life from one,' Yuki thought remembering back to the day Kaname saved her. A snowy night, a man with crimson red eyes and long fangs, closing in on the little girl named Yuki, until a large splatter of blood erupted from the vampire, courtesy of Kaname.

'He had saved me, and because of that, I believe that vampires can coexist peacefully alongside humans. And I know that not all vampires are kind as Kaname, but still…'

Kaname then came to her, "I'll go and inform Mina of our arrival, please wait here until I come back."

Yuki nodded, "Okay." As she watched him walk away, she could see that Zero was glaring at him as he passed, and Yuki couldn't help herself and threw a rock at Zero. It hit him square in the back of the head, and his glared went straight to her. Her excuse was, "You shouldn't stare, its rude."

The sound of hooves on the road made Zero stop from returning the remark. Yuki turned to see another black carriage approaching the castle entrance.

Stopping where the one that brought Yuki to the castle, the door opened and a man in a black leather trench coat and short black hair stepped out. Yuki felt a uneasy breeze come up, as if it was saying that he was not too good to be around. The man held out his hand back at the carriage door, and a woman stepped out of the coach, taking the man's hand. She was wearing a free-flowing white dress, kinda like what you'd wear to expensive parties. And from the looks of it, the woman was rich, rich as in royalty.

Ruina stepped out of the coach, her white high-heels shoes going into the gravel, and she was gently humming to herself.

Victor, still holding her hand, spoke, "Castle Bran, also called Dracula's Castle."

Ruina looked at the castle, 'Beautiful…" Being in Germany all her life, Ruina barely ever had the opportunity to go to other countries. Now she was almost glad her father made her go.

Victor then said, "Seems we're not the first ones here."

Ruina saw what he meant, seeing other people near the fountain. A boy and a girl stood at the edge of the fountain, while two guys and a girl stood a ways away from them. "What do you think?"

Victor nodded, his eyes turned a deep red, and from the heat signatures he saw, he came to the conclusion that they were guests of the party. "The three over there are vampires, the other two are…human."

This surprised Ruina, "What are humans doing here?" She had not expected to see any at a vampire party. "Oh well, doesn't matter I suppose, let's go and see who they are."

Victor let Ruina's hand go, and he followed her to the fountain.

Before she could reach the fountain, the three vampires Victor identified before appeared first. One of the guys, a blond, reached out and grabbed Ruina's hand, "My, my, my…a vampiress?" Taking her hand, which were in long white-laced gloves, she could feel the cold of his touch, and it felt like needles were pricking her skin. "Name's Aido Hanabusa."

"Oh um…thank you, Ruina Reinhardt is my name."

Aido introduced the other two, "The girl is Ruka Souen, and that guy there is Kain Akatsuki. We're purebloods from the Night Class."

Ruka didn't seem to care about Ruina for the moment, and Kain gave a simple wave.

Aido's lips brushed the back of Ruina's hand, and from his smile, she saw the tips of his fangs appear from his mouth. "You're beautiful, though I'm sure you've heard that before I'm sure."

Ruina blushed lightly, "Yes, though not from other vampires."

"Then they are blind," Aido said.

Ruina was kind of freaking out, and pulled her hand away, and as she did that the back of her hand scraped against Aido's fang, cutting her open.

Aido grabbed her hand, "I'm so sorry—" Then he sniffed the air, and he immediately closed his eyes, "That smell…"

Ruina's face went slightly more pale, "w-what's wrong?"

"That smell is tainted, you're a half-breed," he said, his eyes turning from blue to bright red, like Ruina saw when Victor went to battle. Not a good sign from her experience.

"You better not—"

She never finished, as Victor instantly grabbed Aido by the jacket collar with his left hand, holding him tightly while his right fist pressed against the neck.

Aido didn't appear to be concerned, "What…I wasn't planning on doing anything—"

"You had that look that all of us have when we're going to head into a fit of feeding, don't pull that shit with me," Victor said, his eyes glowing bright red out of anger and his fangs extended too.

"Victor stand down!"

Victor looked back at his princess, giving her a look of 'he was about to do something bad,' but she was not going to let him hurt Aido on such a small incident. "It was an accident, let him go."

Victor looked at her, then at Aido, and shoved him away. Ruina, upset at his action, "Pull another stunt like that and you're fired."

Victor shrugged it off, "You wouldn't last a day without me and you know it."

Desperately wanting to ignore him, Ruina went over to the girl on the edge of the fountain, "Hello."

The girl stood up, "Hi."

"My name is Ruina Reinhardt, this is my Knight Victor Nachtmahr." Victor courtesy bowed, saying hello as well. Ruina could have given a sigh of relief had she not been in front of strangers, 'at least he's being respectful to the humans…'

The girl, who was wearing what looked like a black school outfit, put her hand out, "I'm Yuki Cross and this is Zero Kiryu—" Ruina looked at Zero, who was glaring at her for a second until a hiss from behind her made Zero's facial expression change. It came from Victor. She said something to him in Old German, something she wouldn't normally say in front of strangers. Ruina shook Yuki's hand, "Cross? As in Cross Academy?"

Yuki nodded, "Yep, you heard of it?"

"My father knows the Headmaster there, you must be his daughter."

Again the girl nodded, "forgive me for not realizing earlier, but you are a Princess, right?"

"Yeah," Ruina replied with a smile. Yuki immediately bowed her head.

"Sorry, I've never been around royalty before," Yuki said.

"Great, now you've embarrassed both of us," came a reply from Zero.

Yuki punched him in the shoulder hard, "Yeah? Well I didn't see you do anything, Zero!"

Ruina, not able to contain herself, broke out in a fit of giggling, "It's alright, not everyone knows of my position, though I think Kaname would."

Yuki turned back to Ruina, "You know Kaname?"

"He was the one that sent my father the invitation, but I came instead, as my father has top priorities to attend to at home," Ruina explained. "But, seeing that Kaname and his friends are here, and that I have met the daughter of the Academy, I think this will be most enjoyable. Right, Victor?"

The Princess looked at her Knight, and saw that he was looking straight at Zero, both locked in a silent deadlock. Looking at Zero, Ruina couldn't help but feel some sort of animosity seep from the man. 'Its like he was looking at wild animals…'

Just then, a portal appeared near the fountain, a black and purple swirling portal. To Ruina, it reminded her of the portals she saw when demons started to appear back home. Surely, demons could not come here?

Three suitcases fell from the portal, followed by a fourth, and then a boy fell out of it. Wearing a jacket similar to Yuki's, except it was green, and brown pants, Ruina was about to go and help the boy up when another person fell on top of said boy. Her appearance was nothing like Ruina had seen before. The girl had long bright pink hair, and wore the same outfit as the boy she landed on, though she wore an insanely short plaid skirt.

"Owwie…" the girl said painfully, rubbing her lower back, "Next time we ask Sensei-Nekome for assistance, let's not listen…'kay Tsukune? Tsukune?"

Then the girl must have noticed she was literally sitting on the boy, named Tsukune.

Tsukune felt the air rush into his lungs when Moka finally got off his chest, "You okay, Tsukune?"

Barely able to get a nod in, or say anything, Tsukune was helped to his feet by not only Moka, but a girl in a white dress as well. "Thank you…"

The girl nodded, "What a convenient way to travel, I must say."

"Yeah well…we have limited options at Youkai Academy," Moka replied.

"My name is Ruina," said the girl.

"I'm Tsukune Aono, freshman at Youkai…I'm a human…" Tsukune said.

Victor heard that last comment, thinking to himself, 'I know, I can smell you all the way over here kid.'

Moka put her hand up, "And I'm Moka Akashiya, freshman, I'm a vampire!"

Ruina nodded, "I wouldn't have guessed that, you don't really look like a vampire when I first saw you."

"Oh? Then I must be doing better than I thought at the school," Moka said, remembering her classes on how to blend in with humans. She must be higher than she was told. "So, you're a vampire too?"

"Well, you're half right…" Ruina said, her voice a little down.

Moka took her hands into her own, "That's okay, it doesn't matter as long as you have friends, right?"

Ruina smiled, "So many different faces here…who else will show up I wonder?"

The drive to Transylvania was longer than Edward had predicted. It had taken him awhile because of the detour through the mountains and finding a quick gas station in order to avoid being stranded in the Alps for days. Bella didn't seem upset about it, and she slept most of the way.

Edward Cullen was not able to sleep, because of his vampire state. That's how he was able to get to Romania without stopping, except for gas and such, and food for Bella.

He was thankful for the weather on the way too, all rain and clouds, just like in Forks, his and Bella's hometown back in the States. And it was dark by the time they got to Transylvania.

'The place smells the same at least,' Edward remarked, smelling the scent of the trees as he passed them in the car.

Bella was sleeping peacefully, her back turned to Edward and resting in an awkward position in her seat. The back seat would have been a better place had all their luggage not been there.

Every once in awhile Edward would watch Bella sleep while he was driving. Wondering what she was dreaming about. 'Of course, when you can read minds, that should be easy," however, Edward could not read Isabella Swan's mind no matter how hard he tried.

It was like some invisible wall blocked off her mind, one not even the most destructive force could destroy.

And one such glance, Edward didn't have time to see something come out in front of the can. Hitting whatever the black mass was with a lot of force causing the car to go off the road and down the hillside. It didn't roll, but it went right into a tree head on.

Bella was shaking heavily as she slowly struggled to get out of the wrecked car. She felt the pines on the ground prick her fingers, and in the process convince herself that she was alive.

Then she remembered Edward, and called out his name.

The vampire instantly came to her, not suffering a scratch from the crash, except the fact that he should have paid more attention to the road.

Bella struggled to her feet, "What happened…you okay?"

"Yeah…it was some kind of animal, I couldn't really tell what though," he looked back up at the rail that led back up to the road. Edward knew they were lucky, as strange as that sounded. The tree had prevented them from rolling down the hill, and both of them would have been extremely hurt as a result, or death in Bella's case.

"In any case we should get back to the road—" Edward suddenly sensed something. Something revolting…

Bella zipped her coat up, "What's wrong?"

Edward's voice became hard, "Stay close to me."

The girl looked around, and faintly in the dark she could see the pairs of yellow eyes, as many as a dozen. What were they?

"Seems like we've run into a large pack of wolves…" Edward said, his eyes turning a bright gold.

"How can that be…? It doesn't seem natural," Bella said, not thinking such large wolves could exist.

Edward grabbed her hand, "…they think we're trespassing, not wanted here…we should go."

"But where Edward, we're in the middle of nowhere,' Bella whispered.

Edward picked Bella up and held her bridal style in his arms, "Trust me."

The girl had a quick thought, and then nodded, "I do, go for it."

And with that, Edward took off running, in the direction of the spires he had seen earlier.


	6. Odd Circumstance

Minutes went by as Kaname's absence was being told by the people in the parking lot. Everyone got acquainted with each other, and some were even getting extremely friendly (such as Moka was with Aido, or Kain was with Ruina, with Victor not too far away.)

Victor kept a steady eye on everyone, not trusting them in the slightest. 'Well, the kid, Tsukune seems like an idiot, not a threat, it's the others that I can't determine.' The Knight was still seething over what Aido had looked like he was about to do to Ruina. The sound of the boy's fang scratching her skin, followed by the scent of her blood seemed to infuriate him to no end, and for little or no reason.

'Why am I so protective of her all of a sudden? I'm just her knight for crying out loud," he thought as he looked into the water, not seeing his reflection, but seeing Ruina's next to his.

"You're quiet now, something I said earlier bothering you?" The Princess said, hands behind her back.

"No, Princess, I was just thinking."

"Uh oh, you thinking makes me nervous," she said, trying to be playful.

He tried to smile at her remark, but found that he couldn't, "What's taking Kaname so long?"

Ruina took a glance at the large wooden double doors that lead into the castle, "If I was able to get a good grip on it, I'd use my power to find out."

"Don't stress yourself out, you get exhausted easily that way," Victor said, trying not to sound too concerned.

"Yeah well, I have been practicing, just need some more motivation, that's all," she returned.

"Suppose that's all?"

Ruina put her hands on her stomach, "No, I'd still need you, as much as I can't stand you, I'd be dead without you." She looked up into his eyes, gently smiling.

Victor smirked, "Yeah—"

He stopped, sniffing the air.

Everyone stopped as well, all the vampires did anyway. All their eyes turned red as roses, the scent all too familiar to their animalistic urgencies.

Ruina also caught the scent, even though she was a half-breed, she could make it out clearly: there was a wounded, bleeding human nearby.

If Edward had not been a vampire, he and Bella would have already been caught, and the running in the dark in the woods would have caused them to stop sooner as a result and then they would have been killed.

Bella's hold on his neck was strong, but he couldn't feel it, and he ran as fast as he could. And he was fast, the fastest of his Cullen siblings, no one could outrun him.

'I better keep going too, that castle I saw was not too far from the road,' at least that was what he had originally thought.

In the mind of Edward Cullen, the only thought he had was to keep Bella safe, be it from werewolves, or himself if need be. He was doing a bang up job too, as the scent of Bella's blood flooded his mind and he couldn't run in a straight line.

'Get going, we need to know who is in the vicinity,' those were Ruina's words to Victor before asking him to go into the woods, to find who the intruders were.

Victor ran through the woods as fast as he could, running slower than usual because of the leather he wore, but he kept going nonetheless. His eyes were bright red, scanning the area for anything with a heat signature, something that could pass for humans—

-and he passed a person, mere inches from his own body, and skidded to a stop. The stranger did the same, and he wasn't alone.

Victor saw the man as clear as day, and he was holding a human girl in his arms. The smell was coming from her, she was the one who was wounded.

"What are you doing here?" Victor asked, slowly walking toward them. "You shouldn't be here."

"Please, we need help, we had an accident on the mountain. Bella's hurt—" the man was cut off when a low growl was heard from behind Victor. The Knight turned, hissing at what he knew was a pack of wild werewolves, "That will wait, get to the castle. It's just ahead, follow me!"

He took off like a shot, and was surprised to see the boy right next to him as they ran back to the castle.

Ruina waited for Victor, and was surprised to see another man carrying a woman running up to her. "What happened! You okay!"

The man fell to a knee, still holding the girl, who was bleeding heavily on the shoulder. She was still conscious, "Edward, I'll be alright—"

Ruina then saw Victor run up behind Edward, trying to catch some of his breath, not many people could outrun him, and this Edward did. Impressive.

Victor took out a sheathed sword from inside his coat, "Sorry, but our uninvited guests have attracted something foul."

Ruina was going to ask what he meant, and then she saw them.

Werewolves, on all fours, slowly coming out of the woods, snarling, and hungry for food. 'The girl's blood must have attracted them…' "How many are there?"

Victor looked around, "You don't need to know 'how' many, there's too many—" He took out his sword, which had a devil's emblem in the hilt and had a long red blade. "But not enough for me."

"You're a fool, taking on this many—" Ruina said, but Victor put his hand up to silence her. He looked back at her, smiling slightly, "it's my duty, remember?"

Ruina nodded, then turned to Edward and the girl, "Stay here and we'll help you."

To her surprise, Aido and Kain stepped forward, "oh well, we were getting bored anyway," said the blond one Aido. Kain still stood, hands in his pockets, and cracked his neck before giving off a sigh and a smile.

The werewolves took off for the vampires, swarming them, but quickly finding out that their prey could fight back.

Using his sword, Victor cut down one wolf, then another. As a third one was coming up behind him, but a shot from Zero's Bloody Rose brought it down instantly.

Aido, to everyone's surprise, was using ice generated from his hands to totally freeze the wolves, though it took him a bit to actually do so. Kain was doing the same, except he was using fire, also projecting out of his hands and incinerating a carriage a wolf just happened to be standing on.

Yuki had her hands full. Moka and Tsukune instantly hid behind her when the fight started, and Yuki, armed only with the Artemis Rod, had to protect them. Luckily for her, only one came at her. She gave it an upper cut with the end of the stick to the jaw, and then a blow to the back of the head to send it face first into the ground. It was knocked out, at least that is what she hoped.

As she was about to ask if Moka and Tsukune were okay, Moka pointed behind her, and Yuki was tackled to the ground. The pole was caught between the maws of the wolf, and drool was falling onto her face and chest. The claws of its hands were clawing her, ripping her uniform but fortunately not her skin.

The next thing Yuki felt was hot breath coming closer to her neck, and then she felt nothing but the ice-cold air of the night. The wolf had been sent flying, courtesy of a light blue shockwave, and Yuki sat up to see Ruina standing behind her, her eyes glowing bright blue.

"You alright?" The Princess asked, her breathing heavy. The telekinetic maneuver she had used took a lot out of her, not being used to using them, and it was a small one compared to what her father usually did.

She saw Yuki nod in reply.

Another wolf tried to take Ruina down, but using a well timed attack, sent it flying way into the woods. Ruina lost all feeling in her legs, and Yuki had to help her stay up. She had been fighting since the get go, and now she was losing strength. 'Not a good sign…'

Tsukune and Moka stood behind Yuki and Ruina, who tried to stand on her own.

Yuki looked at the princess, "You up for another?"

Ruina shook her head to try to get the dizziness out, "I'll see…" she weakly replied, putting her hands up.

One wolf came up and charge, Yuki instantly blocked it, but the force behind the tackle caused her to crash into Tsukune, who landed on top of Moka in a domino effect.

Tsukune stood up, and realized that he was holding something in his hand: a rosario.

"Uh oh…" was the only thing he said before a bright pink light drowned the area.

The wolves stopped, as did everyone else in the area, as the pink light engulfed them.

Moka stood, her body moving with a will of its own, her hair grew longer, and its pink rose color drained into silver, her body became slightly more muscular and more developed, making her look more stunning, and once her eyes opened, her emerald green eyes were gone, replaced with red cat-like ones.

Tsukune knew what had just happened, _when the rosario on Moka's chest is removed, she transforms into her true vampire form. More beautiful as well as dangerous… And its like Moka is a different person…_

Victor instantly felt the aura coming off Moka, and she gave a sinister smile as she stared at him. "Finally..."

Victor gave her a small look, and she instantly disappeared. The wolves were soon hit from all sides by the lightning quick Moka, and they had no chance to fight back.

Moka was loving it, "child's play…" She turned and saw a wolf coming up to her, its drooling jaws mere inches from her chest, and then a red bladed sword is jabbed into its side.

Its body falls lifeless to the floor, Moka put a strand of her silver hair behind her ear, and looked at Victor with a dissatisfied look.

"You missed one," Victor said with a smirk.

Moka shook her head, pulled the sword from the wolf's carcass, and walked over to Victor, her hips swaying attractively. She stood right next to him, not looking at his face, she said, "Don't do that again."

"Or what?" Victor said, not intimidated.

Moka smirked, "You are…interesting," and she offered the handle of his sword to him, and he took a firm hold of it.

"Thanks," he replied, the blade retracted into the hilt, and Victor put that in his coat.

Moka then turned her attention to Tsukune, who had a firm hold on her rosario. Taking it from him, Victor could hear her say something that sounded like, 'try and do it sooner next time will you?' A small click was heard, and Moka fainted into Tsukune's arms, the large aura disappearing instantly, and the girl changed back to normal.

The werewolves retreated into the woods from whence they came, defeated, and the vampires and humans got a breath from the action.

'Now that that is done with, ' Victor said, turning to look at the man he met in the woods, Edward and the human named Bella. He wanted to know what they were doing in the area.

As Victor went over to them, he saw Ruina was checking on the girl, checking the wound on her shoulder. "You alright, Princess?" The girl nodded, "But Miss Swan is not, obviously."

"Bella, please." The girl said, correcting her.

Ruina nodded, "Bella it is then."

Victor saw Bella, long chocolate brown hair reaching past her shoulders, looking up at him with tired eyes. Ruina spoke up, "Other than the obvious, I think its safe to say that both of you realize you are in the company of vampires?"

Bella looked up at Edward, and she nodded, "Unexpectedly I might add."

Ruina helped her to her feet, "We'd best get you inside."

That's when a large creaking sound was heard, and the doors to the castle opened.

Everyone's gaze traveled to them, eyes wondering what or who would be behind them.

And that's when Kaname appeared, "Sorry to keep you waiting…" He looked around, "I see you kept yourselves well entertained."

Victor immediately spoke, "Oh yeah, it was a fucking party out here."

Kaname seemed to ignore the Knight, and Ruina gave him a glare.

A small clapping came from behind Kaname, and a little girl came out of the door, with Kaname bowing, "I shall I say, it was an excellent performance."

Ruina stood, "Who are you…?"

The girl, long pale pink hair, and looking not a day over ten, spoke with a peculiar European accent, "I am Mina Tepes, descendant of Count Dracula, and Queen of the Vampires."

All there was that followed was stunned silence.

"And I bid you welcome."


	7. Chapter 7

England….

Blade drove into the warehouse as soon as he was finished with his rounds. His '68 Dodge Charger roaring loudly in the night, and soon he came upon his temporary home.

The warehouse he was using as a staging post was hidden near the coast of the English Channel, old and vacant, just the kind to house the weapons of a hunter.

He parked the car in the driveway, then went inside the main building, sword in his right hand and the paper he had found at the safe house in the other.

The man named Abraham Whistler was at a computer screen, looking at known vampire hideouts that Blade had already raided when the Daywalker came up to him. "Whistler."

The old hunter stood, his left leg in a brace, and with a cigarette between his lips, "What'd you find that was so important?"

Holding up the paper, Blade handed it to Whistler, "seems the Lords are gathering."

Whistler took a long look at it, "Mina Tepes? Sounds like a loony than an actual lord. What makes you think she's of importance?"

Taking off his coat, and then his gloves, Blade answer in a cold voice, "They say that the Tepes family has their claws deep into the vampire hierarchy."

"Oh, the head of the snake," Whistler said, taking a smoke.

"And what do we know about snake heads?"

"Blade, you want to go to Transylvania—"

"No, I am going to that place, that party," he corrected his mentor.

"You know, if this is truly going to happen, there will be a lot of vampires there, including this Mina that was mentioned," Whistler said. He was a veteran in vampire hunting, he had seen many gatherings, but this one was by far the largest. Vampires usually got together in small numbers as to not attract attention, but it seems that this one will be the biggest of them all.

Blade put his sword on its holder, "We leave for Romania tomorrow. Take a ferry across, hold up in Austria or Czech, and then head for Romania."

"That's a three to four day journey at the most, better start packing then," Whistler said, moving along to get started.

Blade went to his area of the warehouse to rest, something he rarely ever did, hoping sunrise would come, and so he could get to that party sooner.

Transylvania…

In the castle where the Masquerade is planned, Lady Mina sits in the dinning room, sitting in the most adorned chair of red and gold, the lighting very dimly lit with candles. Mina was speaking, "Sorry you all had to wait out there that long, I wasn't expecting guests so soon. What with the Masquerade three days off."

Ruina sat on the right side of the table, opposite Kaname, who was staring at Mina. The girl named Yuki sat next to him, listening to the 'Queen' of the vampires explain herself. Ruina had Victor stand to her right, and he seemed like he was as confused as she was.

'The Queen, Mina Tepes, is a little girl?' She thought with shock. The German Princess had been expecting an old woman, or even a middle-aged one at that. The fact that the person her father usually confined his meetings with was a little girl caught her completely off guard.

'Seems Kaname takes her seriously, though,' she thought, as he never seemed to take his eyes off her while she spoke. Well, at least until Yuki had to ask him a question, that is when he turned his full attention to her.

Ruina felt kind of jealous of Yuki, to have such a man in her life. Kaname was handsome, arguably the most handsome vampire Ruina had ever seen in her life. He also seemed like the type that was always caring about you when you were not near, and often or not kept an eye on you from a distance.

'Must be nice, having someone like that around,' she thought, nearly dozing off when she felt a hand on her shoulder. That of her Knight.

"Tired?" He said in a somewhat worried tone.

Ruina nodded, "Not used to staying up this late, or fighting for my life for that matter… Guess I am a little."

Victor didn't say anymore and stood up straight, like he was supposed to.

Ruina shifted in her seat again, her thoughts now on Victor. 'Yuki is lucky to have her man, and I get this guy…what luck.' To Ruina, Victor was way too serious in his profession, he could at least make a joke about a situation, or cheer her up whenever she felt down. 'At least he was around to save my butt when I couldn't…he does a damn good job of that.'

"Princess Ruina?"

Ruina snapped out of her thoughts, realizing that someone was talking to her, "Yes?"

She blushed when she saw that the Queen was talking to her.

"What do you think we should do about our other visitors? Edward and Bella?"

Ruina sat back, her back flat against the red velvet chair, and turned to face the two unexpected guests.

Bella saw the half-vampire Princess turn to look at her first, her blue eyes shining in the dim lighted room. She spoke with a German accent that was smooth as silk, "Well, I don't see any reason why they can't stay, if that's what you mean Your Highness."

Edward was sitting next to Bella, holding her hand, and looking at Mina. Bella knew he was trying to get into the minds of those around the table. The only ones in the room besides Bella and Edward, were Mina, Yuki, Kaname, the boy named Zero, Ruina, and her Knight the man Edward met in the woods. The others had been asked to wait outside before hand.

Mina nodded, "Well, even though they have trespassed on my land, they didn't do it on purpose or with prior knowledge of my presence here. Lord Kaname, what's your say in this?"

Kaname spoke softly, "Surely it was an accident, yes?" He said, looking at Bella.

The girl had nothing to say in the manner, she simply nodded.

"Since that is the case, I say we let the two stay and enjoy their time here before they return home."

'At least he isn't going to have us leave, what with no car and all, or have us killed,' Bella said out of relief.

Mina agreed, "So, in that sense I will allow them to stay here until after the party."

Edward spoke up this time, "What party?"

Mina smirked, making Bella shiver in surprise fright, "You'll see. Now, our human guests need rest, as do the rest of you for your actions earlier against the feral wolves. I'm off to my chamber, good night."

Mina got up and walked to behind her chair as the rest of them started to move slowly.

As soon as the room was emptied, Yuki tried to speak to Kaname but he seemed preoccupied, and returned not a word, only a small smile.

'Guess he's tired too,' she concluded.

As she made it to the door, she met up with the girl from the woods, Bella.

"Things must have been quite hectic for you these last couple hours huh," Yuki said, trying to sound friendly.

Bella nodded, "Yeah, quite a roller-coaster ride."

"But you don't need to worry, Kaname's nice, just in case you felt uncomfortable," Yuki said, scratching the back of her head.

That's when she heard Zero's voice, "So, what's the story with you and Edward—" Zero never got the chance to finish, as Yuki started berating him.

"You idiot, stop asking personal questions and get to our room! Gawd…"

Zero walked off without another word.

"Sorry about him, he's been pushy since we got here…hehe," Yuki said, all flabbergasted while angry at her friend for his behavior.

"It's alright," Bella quickly said, walking out of the dinning room. 'I sometimes wonder what Zero is, Yuki…'

Midnight…

While most of the other vampires were up and in the castle lobby, the humans and half-human all were getting ready for well-needed sleep. Strange as it was, Ruina needed it the most. Using her powers earlier had taken the literal wind out of her, her body not being used to that.

She found her room, in the west wing, and discovered it was as lovely as the rest of the castle. Clear walls with very soft carpet, pleasant to the soles of Ruina's feet after she took off her shoes. The bed was large, must have been a double-queen, and had two layers of blankets. The only other piece of furniture was a chair in the far corner near a large French window that led onto a balcony.

However, unlike the dinning room, the bedroom was better lit, since there were electric lights on the ceiling as well as a lamp at the bedside table.

'Simple style, but I like it,' the princess thought, finding her luggage near the window. The place didn't appear to have anything electronic save for the lights, not until she saw on the main dresser something that caught her eye. A small black and silver jukebox was there, heavily contrasting the rest of the room, and by it was a small stack of CDs.

Thinking they were just random, Ruina wasn't expecting anything big. She was wrong.

The first one she saw had a familiar title to her: Dark Light.

'Dark Light?' She thought with excitement, the CD was by her favorite group, an alternate rock group called HIM.

That wasn't all either.

'Venus Doom, Razorblade romance, Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights, and ScreamWorks as well?' Whoever knew Ruina would be staying in this room really did their homework on what music she loved to listen to.

Grabbing the CD called ScreamWorks, which had the full title of ScreamWorks: Love in Theory and Practice Chapters 1-13, Ruina put the CD in the jukebox, and went to find her favorite song.

Bella got situated in her own room, which she found extravagant to say the least. A little more luxurious compared to Edward's home back in Forks, and she knew she'd better get used to it.

'Only hope there isn't any room service, I don't like to be waited on hand and foot,' she thought as she looked around the room. 'Too bad all my stuff was in the car—'

She cut herself off when she saw small suitcases, brown leather ones near the door to the balcony. 'What are those?'

She went over to them, setting the small one on the bed, she took a look inside, and found all the contents to be familiar.

That's when she realized that this was the luggage had in their car.

'Mina must have got them…' Bella thought gratefully, not wanting to try on some stranger's outfits.

Looking around, she saw that there was another door, and she went to it, and saw it as the most glorified bathroom she had ever seen. All white walls and floor, with a shower/tub that looked like it could hold three people simultaneously to her right. A large mirror as tall about half of Bella's five foot four inch self was to her left. 'Well, I won't be afraid to shower here,' she thought before she closed the door behind her. She had grabbed the small make-up bag from her suitcase and brought it with her into the bathroom.

As she started to settle in, she felt a sharp pain in her left shoulder and hissed in response. She had forgotten about getting hurt in the woods earlier.

Deciding now wouldn't be a bad time to look at it, Bella pulled the sleeve of her tee back onto her shoulder, and hissed again as she felt the pain again.

She didn't even hear the door open when she saw Ruina standing next to her.

The sudden scent of blood got hold of Ruina's senses, and like a dog to bait, she found herself in the bathroom next to Bella. The human was surprised to see her there. 'Where'd you come from?"

Ruina couldn't bring herself to answer, staring at the wound before her, her eyes locked on and bright blue.

"Princess?"

Mentally slapping herself, Ruina shook her head, and felt her senses return to a somewhat normal state, 'Dammit! Snap out of it!'

"Sorry, still got to learn how to control my…urges," she replied, quickly apologizing for her actions.

Bella nodded, and heard music coming from the room behind Ruina. "That your room, Princess?"

"Please call me Ruina."

"Alright."

"Yes, it is, and I'm using a stereo."

"Funny, I didn't see one in my room."

"If you want, you can use mine whenever you feel like it."

"Thanks, Ruina."

"First, let's look at that nasty cut."

Ruina put a hand on Bella's shoulder, and it felt warm against the girl's skin, much to her surprise. "You're freezing…"

"And you're warm."

"Ah well, that happens when you're half-human, you get some of the best of both ends."

Ruina looked through the drawers of the vanity, searching in a calm manner, talking to Bella as she went.

The girls spoke of their schools, Bella in high school with Edward and Ruina preparing to go to college in Munich. Bella spoke of her parents, her father Charlie being the Sheriff of Forks, Washington where she lived. Ruina said her father was a Lord in Berlin, and the ruler of all vampire clans in Germany. Ruina took notice that her and Bella were on opposite ends of the class stick. And yet, they got along very well.

"How's life as a princess?"

Ruina thought that came out rather unexpectedly. "Well, I can say the same about you being human."

Both girls remained silent as Ruina dressed the wound, awkward silence.

Bella felt like she had hit a wrong note during music class. She could feel Ruina's hands stitching her up, their contact warm yet tense.

"Sorry, I should have thought about it more."

Ruina finished up, "Its alright."

Bella looked at her shoulder, the wound was good and cleanly stitched up, like Carlyle Cullen's work at the hospital.

"You normally stitch yourself up?" Bella asked, adjusting her shirt.

"Well, no actually, my accelerated healing would kick in after a few seconds of being hurt. A cut like that would have been healed in somewhere around an hour for me," Ruina said, putting the Aid kit away.

"Must be convenient to have such an ability," Bella said, taking her shirt off, as it was very bloody.

"Yeah well, I could have just had Victor lick it," she said quickly.

Bella had to ask her to repeat that, thinking she had heard her say something else.

Ruina shook her head, "A pureblood's saliva can immediately seal a wound. That's how many purebloods can get away with biting humans and not be suspected."

Bella then got a shiver, Victor licking her skin sent a chill up her spine, "In that case, no thanks…"

"That's why I did the old fashioned way," Ruina replied with a laugh. She turned to look at the mirror, her somewhat pale skin nearly blending her in with the rest of the bathroom. "So, you going to use the bathroom first when we wake up in the morning?"

"You sleep?"

Ruina nodded, "Although I don't necessarily have to. I do get tired after staying up for about twelve hours. I am a girl who takes a lot of naps."

Bella also looked into the mirror, "You have a reflection as well."

"Thank God too, otherwise I wouldn't want to wake up in the morning," Ruina said jokingly. "But what about your man, Edward?"

'Nearly forgot about him.' "He has a reflection."

Ruina looked at her, "He's not the kind of guy who looks at himself in the mirror all the time, is he?"

Bella laughed slightly, "No."

"Good, he's gorgeous by the way," Ruina said truthfully.

Before Bella could say thank you, someone else said it before her.

"Talking about me?"

Bella turned and saw Edward coming from her room, a smile on his face.

Ruina looked on in awe as Edward came in, and she couldn't help but gawk for even a split second. Edward was, even for a vampire, very beautiful.

She found him so attractive, that she felt a tingle go out through her nerves, and she blushed heavily, turning away to hide it and putting her hands to her face. That same tingle went straight to her chest, and she quickly put her arms to her chest. 'Shit…he turned me on…!'

Of course, Edward knew what was going on, but not wanting to make Ruina more embarrassed, he went and put an arm around Bella's waist, "You okay?"

Bella nodded, showing him her shoulder.

Edward smiled again, turning his attention to Ruina, "Thank you Ruina."

Hoping that her hormones were back in their place, the flushed Princess turned back to face the two. Standing like a statue with her arms to her side, she nodded, "My pleasure, Edward."

Edward's smile faded and a small chill over came Ruina as she realized someone came in from her side of the bathroom.

"Hello, Edward." Victor said coldly.

Edward's expression turned to a near anger, and Bella put a hand on Edward's, hoping that would calm him down. That did work, albeit only so slightly. Edward had read up on Victor's mind, and right from the get go, right from the moment at the fountain, he got an antagonistic feeling from the Knight towards himself.

"Evening, Victor," was Edward's reply, similar in tone to Victor's.

Bell and Ruina attempted to steer the two vampires away from each other, hoping to avoid conflict.

"Victor, go to my room, I'll see to you there," Ruina said, trying to push the big man back, and he didn't need to be told again, and he left without another word. Bella simply gave Edward a look, and he understood instantly, leaving the girls alone.

As soon as the men left the women alone, both Bella and Ruina looked at each other, and both knew just by the looks on the other's face that they did not have an easy three days ahead of them.


	8. Chapter 8

1:00 AM

Down in the lobby, Akatsuki Kain and Hanabusa Aido sat on sofas on opposite sides of a coffee table, wine glasses on said table with a small amount of blood in them. Both vampires had been told to stay in the lobby while Kaname went and got Yuki situated.

Ruka, who was off with Kaname, had been very quiet during the stay thus far, but that was typical of her. She was never much of a talker to begin with.

Kain was not feeling up for anything at the moment, so he had no problem with sitting and doing nothing for the time being. Aido however, was rather restless.

Probably because of what had happened earlier.

Aido had been reprimanded by Kaname for his actions on Ruina Reinhardt, and was told to wait in their room for a whole day as punishment once the rooms were prepared.

"A whole day, and we just got here!" Aido said, obviously complaining.

Kain sighed, "That's what you get for trying to act like Dracula, _baka_."

Aido looked at him, his tone different now, "I did manage to get a taste though."

"Oh, and how did she taste?"

"Man, you wouldn't believe it if I told you," Aido said, smiling mischievously, then it disappeared, "However, that human girl smelled quite yummy too."

Kain seemed slightly interested all of a sudden, "Bella, that was what her name wasn't it?"

"Such a nice name…"

Kain then asked the one question Aido was waiting for, "Wonder where Kaname is?"

5:00 AM

Kaname was speaking with Mina, in her chamber. As with the dinning room it was dimly lit, only a candle in each corner and there wasn't much furniture save for a single queen sized bed. The queen sat on her bed, getting ready to rest for the day that was coming, and Kaname quietly watched her with red glowing eyes.

"So, what do you think of my castle?" said the Queen, climbing into bed.

Kaname sat in a chair next to the bed, "Truth be told, I expected it to be more run down."

Mina giggled, "The Romanians see it as a hero's palace. As Vlad the Impaler is a hero to them. In honor of that, I kept the place very up to date and left it open as a museum."

"Indeed, I also heard the place is also a haven for monsters. Or was, years ago."

"I haven't seen any during my time here, so if any should show up now, it would surprise even me."

"How often do you stay here?"

"This is my first time in say…ever."

Kaname's expression didn't change, but he suddenly remembered Yuki, "And what will you do about it?"

Mina combed her hair playfully; "Danger always keeps those in the area on their toes…"

"So you mean to tell me you don't know what is in this castle…"

"Where's the fun in finding out if you can do it yourselves? I'm sure you'll be able to handle it."

She asked Kaname to tuck her in. He did so, his expression still the same. After parting, Kaname stood outside the door, hoping that bringing Yuki to this place would not be his gravest mistake in his life…

The sun shined brightly into Ruina's room, the warm rays landing on her bed, heating up her legs and waking her up. She didn't move from the bed, instead reaching for the silver watch on the bedside table. The time said 8:00 AM. Normally she'd be up sooner, but the lack of an alarm clock made that all but impossible.

'Less than seven hours of sleep…thanks Mina…' she thought, complaining.

Getting up, Ruina immediately, but slowly, walked to the window and let the sun warm her body. She welcomed it, when, if she were a pureblood, she'd be hiding from it. It was the fact that she loved the sun, that she felt just slightly more human than she was.

Then a thought came to her mind, _Where's Victor?_

Looking around the room, she quickly spotted him. He was sitting in a chair, eyes closed and breathing softly. He had his head down, like he was sleeping. Ruina couldn't help but smile. _He looks so…helpless while he sleeps._

Then she blushed slightly, _Helpless? Victor? I must be losing it…_

Going to the bathroom quietly, Ruina took out a small bag and set it near the bathroom sink. The zip-lock bag contained some herbs. These were mediation herbs; she usually lit them for essence during her baths. Though the thought of a bath excited her and made her relax, Ruina remembered that the bathroom was also shared with Bella and Edward.

Ruina didn't know if Bella was up yet, and Edward must be sleeping now, so she decided to leave the essences alone for the moment and went to take a shower instead.

After a very long relaxing shower, Ruina took a towel, wrapped it around herself, and went back to the sink.

She felt very refreshed after that, but now came something she dreaded.

Pulling out a small black kit, Ruina opened it, and four deep red vials nearly four inches in length were there, as was a cloth and a syringe. Pulling out the cloth and one of the vials, Ruina undid the lid, took a deep breath, and drank it. Taking it down in one gulp, Ruina felt like she had swallowed a shot of poisoned water.

_Now, here comes the…fun part… _

A surge of heat came from deep within the Princess' gut, spreading like a flame. Her muscles tensed, and then they went loose in an uncontrolled spasm. She threw down the vial, smashing the glass into micro pieces. Then a large surge of pain went right to her mouth, to her fangs, making them erect like she was about to feed, and her eyes, from what she saw in the reflection were the brightest red.

Grabbing the edge of the sink with both hands in an unshakable grip, Ruina tried to keep herself from screaming, as the pain inside her was becoming unbearable. She had not counted on her legs giving out on her, and fell onto the hard tiled floor, curling up into a ball, and finally, not able to hold herself in any longer, screamed.

The sudden thud woke Bella from her sleep, and the scream that followed made her run to the bathroom.

Opening the door, she saw Ruina, curled up and sobbing in the middle of the floor.

"Ruina!"

Going to the Princess, Bella put a hand on Ruina's shoulder, trying to talk to her and calm her down at the same time. She helped Ruina sit up, her back against the drawer of the sink.

"What happened?" Bella asked, concern in her voice.

Ruina wiped the water from her eyes, "I…slipped and hurt my leg getting out of the shower."

Bella didn't quite get it, but accepted it, "You alright?"

Ruina looked into her eyes, "Yeah…just give me a second…" She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself.

As Ruina got her breath back, Bella cleaned up the little pieces of glass on the floor.

She then helped Ruina to her feet, saying she was all right and apologized for making a big deal of such a small accident.

"It's alright," Bella said, deciding now that she was up that she could get ready for the day ahead now.

"So, what do you plan on doing?" Ruina asked, adjusting the towel around her body.

"Well, Edward and I were going to explore the castle a little," she replied.

Ruina looked surprised when Edward was mentioned. "Doesn't he sleep during the day?"

Bella shook her head slowly, "He doesn't sleep. Don't you, Edward?"

"Nope," the reply was heard at the door to Bella's room.

Ruina saw Edward standing there, with a half smile on his face, and she looked as if she had lost track of everything. Bella knew that happened a lot when she was around Edward, she wasn't worried about it. But Ruina turned back to her quickly, her cheeks red with slight embarrassment. Edward didn't need to be told to leave, he was long gone by the time Bella opened her mouth.

"You want to come with us?"

Ruina looked at the mirror, throwing the towel to the side, "Sure. It'll help me relax." She started to put some make-up on.

Bella couldn't, even as she got her shower ready, help but feel like Ruina was hiding something.


End file.
